May. 19, 2017, 8:29 a.m.

Los Angeles’ teachers union, for decades a dominant political force in school district politics, suffered a crushing defeat this week that speaks to a larger power shift away from labor and toward the growth of the well-heeled charter school movement.

One widely expected outcome is that charter schools will continue to grow in number and influence. That could benefit students and families looking for alternatives to their local public schools. But because most charter schools are not unionized, their growth threatens the teachers union — and possibly other local public-employee unions.

Mar. 18, 2018, 5:00 a.m.

UCLA graduate student Kristen Glasgow says she first met Gabriel Piterberg, a history professor, in 2008. They had coffee together and then, she alleged, he walked her to her car, pushed her against it and forced his tongue into her mouth.

Glasgow detailed this and other claims of Piterberg's sexual misconduct over a five-year period in a lawsuit she filed against the University of California in 2015.

Mar. 14, 2018, 8:00 p.m.

A University of California regents committee on Wednesday approved a tuition increase for nonresident students, despite their pleas that it would cause them hardship.

The proposed 3.5% tuition increase would boost the supplemental tuition that nonresident students pay by $978 — from $28,014 to $28,992 for the 2018-19 school year. The increase would raise nearly $35 million.

Mar. 14, 2018, 5:32 p.m.

A controversial UCLA professor accused of sexual harassment has lost his job with the university and any chance of future employment with the University of California under a settlement announced this week.

History professor Gabriel Piterberg made unwelcome sexual comments and contact — including an open-mouth kiss — to a person or persons in 2008 and between 2009 and 2013, a UCLA Title IX investigation has found. UCLA did not disclose the number or names of the complainants.

Piterberg disputes the findings but agreed to leave UCLA and forgo any emeritus status, future employment in the UC system, office space or other privileges under the settlement.

Mar. 16, 2018, 1:20 p.m.

Students in Parkland, Fla., gather at a memorial in honor of the victims of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School last month. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

As students walked out of schools across the country Wednesday to protest gun violence, a Senate hearing examined law enforcement agencies' failure to heed multiple warnings about the Parkland, Fla., man accused of killing 17 people at a high school, as well as the long record of failed gun control measures in Congress.